Islamabad, Oct 22: Senior pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will replace Muhammad Rizwan as the new ODI captain of Pakistan starting next month, the countryâs cricket board has announced amid speculation that the sudden change of guard was pushed by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson.The PCB announced that Shaheen will lead Pakistan in the three-match ODI series against South Africa in Faisalabad from November 4-8. The decision, the board said, was taken at a meeting in Islamabad attended by the national selectors, advisory board members, and Hesson.
While the PCB has not cited any official reason for the switch, insiders believe Hessonâs recommendation served as a âspringboardâ to make the change.
Apart from Hessonâs insistence, the move has sparked a fresh round of speculation within Pakistan cricket circles about what else could have been a contributing factor to the PCBâs decision. There is also speculation that some officials in the cricket board were uneasy with Rizwanâs âgrowing tendency to involve religion in dressing room discussionsâ, something that also made some players uncomfortable.